FReeper Canteen ~ Remembering Our Troops! ~ 08 October 2020

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | The Canteen Crew

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~

~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~

ROOM ASSAULT

Soldiers rehearse room clearance procedures during training at the Urban Assault Course on Fort Jackson, SC, Dec. 3, 2015. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Brian Hamilton

Canteen Mission Statement

Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies' military
and family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.

FIGHT FOR HONOR

Paratroopers engage in a pugil stick match during Pathfinder Torcher on Fort Bragg, NC, Dec. 8, 2015. The paratroopers are assigned to Pathfinder Company, 2nd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Christopher Freeman

GUN QUALIFICATION

U.S. Navy sailors participate in a .50-caliber machine gun qualification course as part of deployment training in the 5th Fleet area of Operations, Nov 28, 2015. The sailors assigned to Commander, Task Group 56.11. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonah Stepanik

INTAKE VIEW

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Steven Benton performs an intake inspection on an F-16 Fighting Falcon on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Nov. 30, 2015. Benton is a crew chief assigned to the 455th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, which provides combat-ready aircraft to support coalition forces throughout Afghanistan. U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. Robert Cloys

SUPPLY SIGNAL

U.S. Navy Seaman Anthony Fabiochi signals the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Leroy Grumman for more cargo during a replenishment at sea with the USS Carney, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, in the Mediterranean Sea, Dec. 7, 2015. Fabiochi is a boatswain’s mate. The Carney is conducting a routine patrol in the U. S. 6th Fleet area of operations to support U.S. national security interests in Europe. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Theron J. Godbold

OPERATION TOY DROP

A U.S. Army Special Operations parachute team member descends toward Luzon drop zone during the 18th Annual Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop on Camp Mackall, NC, Dec. 7, 2015. Operation Toy Drop is the world's largest combined airborne operation during which service members help provide children in need with toys for the holidays. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Douglas Ellis

EXAMINING AN AIRCRAFT

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Carlo Patalinghug examines an F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft to isolate and repair a hydraulic leak on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Nov. 30, 2015. Patalinghug is a crew chief assigned to the 455th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Robert Cloys

Please remember that The Canteen is here to support
and entertain our troops and veterans and their families,
and is family friendly.

[ConorMacNessa]

REQUEST PERMISSION TO COME ABOARD



CHARLESTOWN, Mass. (Jan. 14, 2008) The first major snowfall of the New Year blankets the USS Constitution. Despite the weather "Old Ironsides" remained open for free public tours. At 210 years-old, USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, manned by 67 active-duty United States Sailors and visited by nearly half a million visitors annually. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Eric Brown (Released)

GOD BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS AND OUR BELOVED NATION!!!





Boston, Oct. 21, 2009 - Boatswains Mate 2nd Class Philip Gagnon pipes as USS Constitution performs an underway demonstration in honor of the three-masted wooden frigate's 212th birthday. (U.S. Navy photo by Airman Mark Alexander/Released).



USS Constitution's 1812 Marine Guard fire vintage Springfield flintlock muskets during the ship's underway. "Old Ironsides" was underway for the "Constitution Day Cruise," which is conducted to thank the family and supporters of Constitution. U.S. Navy photo by Airman Nick Lyman (Released)

OUR TROOPS ROCK!!!!!!!

[The Mayor]

Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list

October 8

Zax Nature

Bible in a Year:

• Isaiah 30–31
• Philippians 4

Let your gentleness be evident to all.

Philippians 4:5

In one of Dr. Seuss’ whimsical stories, he tells of a “North-Going Zax and a South-Going Zax” crossing the Prairie of Prax. Upon meeting nose to nose, neither Zax will step aside. The first Zax angrily vows to stay put—even if it makes “the whole world stand still.” (Unfazed, the world moves on and builds a highway around them.)

The tale offers an uncomfortably accurate picture of human nature. We possess a reflexive “need” to be right, and we’re prone to stubbornly cling to that instinct in rather destructive ways!

Happily for us, God lovingly chooses to soften stubborn human hearts. The apostle Paul knew this, so when two members of the Philippian church were squabbling, he loved them enough to call them out (Philippians 4:2). Then, having earlier instructed the believers to have “the same mindset” of self-giving love as Christ (2:5–8), Paul asked them to “help these women,” valued coworkers with him in sharing the gospel (4:3). It seems peacemaking and wise compromise call for team effort.

Of course there are times to take a firm stand, but a Christlike approach will look a lot different than an unyielding Zax! So many things in life aren’t worth fighting over. We can bicker with each other over every trivial concern until we destroy ourselves (Galatians 5:15). Or we can swallow our pride, graciously receive wise counsel, and seek unity with our brothers and sisters.

By:  Tim Gustafson Reflect & Pray

What are the things you’re fighting over right now? How could wise friends help you resolve your situation? 

Soften my hardened, stubborn heart, loving God, so I can truly live in unity. And help me to be open to wise counsel.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Permission Granted!

[ConorMacNessa]

Thanks very much, Kathy!
***HUGS***



Striding up the gangplank as we speak,
rendering Hand Salutes to our National Colors
and to the Officer of the Deck!
Thank you very much for this evening's
"Remembering Our Troops" thread!

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

(((HUGS)))

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mayor, and thank you for today’s sustenance for body and soul.

Did the big day come off as planned? Mixer picked up?

[ConorMacNessa]

REST IN PEACE, FALLEN BROTHER! And Welcome Home after 77 Long Years!



PVT. JACOB CRUZ, USMC
1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment
2nd Marine Division
KIA Tarawa Atoll, 22 November 1943

Pvt. Cruz will be laid to rest in his hometown of Los Angeles, California on 20 November 2020.



1st Battalion, 6th Marines

"Eternal Father, Strong to Save"
U.S. Marine Band & Choir
(Click)







Taps
(Click)

[ConorMacNessa]

Welcome To All Who Enter This Canteen, To Our Serving Military, To Our Veterans, To All Military Families, To Our FRiends and To Our Allies!



Missing Man Setting

"The Empty Chair"

By Captain Carroll "Lex" Lefon, USN (RET), on December 21st, 2004

"In the wardroom onboard the aircraft carrier from which I recently debarked was a small, round table, with single chair. No one ever sat there, and the reasons, both for the table being there, and for the fact that the chair was always empty, will tell the reader a little bit about who we are as a culture. The wardroom, of course, is where the officers will dine; morning, noon and evening. It is not only a place to eat – it is also a kind of oasis from the sometimes dreary, often difficult exigencies of the service. A place of social discourse, of momentary relief from the burdens of the day. The only things explicitly forbidden by inviolable tradition in the wardroom are the wearing of a cover or sword by an officer not actually on watch, or conversation which touches upon politics or religion. But aboard ships which observe the custom, another implicit taboo concerns the empty chair: No matter how crowded the room, no matter who is waiting to be seated, that chair is never moved, never taken.

The table is by the main entrance to the wardroom. You will see it when you enter, and you will see it when you leave. It draws your eyes because it is meant to. And because it draws your eyes it draws your thoughts. And though it will be there every day for as long as you are at sea, you will look at it every time and your eyes will momentarily grow distant as you think for a moment. As you quietly give thanks.

AS YOU REMEMBER.

The small, round table is covered with a gold linen tablecloth. A single place setting rests there, of fine bone china. A wineglass stands upon the table, inverted, empty. On the dinner plate is a pinch of salt. On the bread plate is a slice of lemon. Besides the plate lies a bible. There is a small vase with a single red rose upon the table. Around the vase is wound a yellow ribbon. There is the empty chair.

We will remember because over the course of our careers, we will have had the opportunity to enjoy many a formal evening of dinner and dancing in the fine company of those with whom we have the honor to serve, and their lovely ladies. And as the night wears on, our faces will in time become flushed with pleasure of each other’s company, with the exertions on the dance floor, with the effects of our libations. But while the feast is still at its best, order will be called to the room – we will be asked to raise our glasses to the empty table, and we will be asked to remember:

The table is round to show our everlasting concern for those who are missing. The single setting reminds us that every one of them went to their fates alone, that every life was unique.

The tablecloth is gold symbolizing the purity of their motives when they answered the call to duty.

The single red rose, displayed in a vase, reminds us of the life of each of the missing, and their loved ones who kept the faith.

The yellow ribbon around the vase symbolizes our continued determination to remember them.

The slice of lemon reminds us of the bitterness of their fate.
The salt symbolizes the tears shed by those who loved them.
The bible represents the faith that sustained them.
The glass is inverted — they cannot share in the toast.
The chair is empty — they are not here. They are missing.

And we will remember, and we will raise our glasses to those who went before us, and who gave all that they had for us. And a part of the flush in our faces will pale as we remember that nothing worth having ever came without a cost. We will remember that many of our brothers and sisters have paid that cost in blood. We will remember that the reckoning is not over.

We many of us will settle with our families into our holiday season, our Christmas season for those who celebrate it, content in our fortune and prosperity. We will meet old friends with smiles and laughter. We will meet our members of our family with hugs. We will eat well, and exchange gifts and raise our glasses to the year passed in gratitude, and to the year to come with hope. We will sleep the sleep of the protected, secure in our homes, secure in our homeland.

But for many families, there will be an empty chair at the table this year. A place that is not filled.

WE SHOULD REMEMBER."

Many Thanks To Alfa6 For Finding Capt. Lefon's Chronicle Of "The Empty Chair."

"Träumerei"
Robert Schumann
(Click)

Never Forget The Brave Men And Women Who
Gave Their Lives To Secure Our Freedom!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Happy 19th Birthday to The Canteen!! 10/7/01 - 10/7/20

Click

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mac...did Mrs MacNessa have a birthday today?

[luvie]

...till they all come home....🇺🇸

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ Remembering Our Troops! ~

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT

Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies' military
and the family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.

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To every service man or woman reading this thread.
Thank You for your service to our country.
No matter where you are stationed,
No matter what your job description
Know that we are are proud of each and everyone of you.
To our military readers, we remain steadfast
in keeping the Canteen doors open.

The FR Canteen is Free Republic's longest running daily thread
specifically designed to provide entertainment and moral support for the military.
The doors have been open since Oct 7 2001,
the day of the start of the war in Afghanistan.

We are indebted to you for your sacrifices for our Freedom.

NOTE: CANTEEN MUSIC
Posted daily and on the Music Thread
for the enjoyment of our troops and visitors.

[luvie]

Always remembering them
and the sacrifices they make for us!

[luvie]

Oh, wow! Happy Birthday to us!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...did you and Blue enjoy another good day?

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

To all our military men and women, past and present,

THANK YOU
for your service!

[radu]

Rest in peace,
PVT. JACOB CRUZ, USMC
1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment
2nd Marine Division
KIA Tarawa Atoll, 22 November 1943

[radu]

Wow! Has it been 19 years already?
We're gonna need more cake for the celebration!

[ConorMacNessa]

Yes she did, Kathy - we're celebrating it on Sunday.

"I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces guarding our country and our way of life.
I am prepared to give my life in their defense."